What are the latest allegations?

She said that on separate occasions her former husband ran a car over her foot, threw her against a wall and extinguished a cigarette on her hand.

In response, Mr Sorensen released a statement in which he said he had "never committed violence of any kind against any woman in my entire life" and that instead it was he who had been physically abused.

He said he was considering legal action, but said he quit because he "didn't want the White House to have to deal with this distraction".

A White House spokesman said on Thursday that Mr Kelly did not realise the extent of the claims until a photo of one of Mr Porter's former wives, Colbie Holderness, suffering a black eye, emerged on Wednesday.